Just In Case
by JustLikeaMcCord
Summary: "There are moments that define a life. They are unpredictable and most come without any warning. It's who we are in these moments and their aftermath that becomes the truest measure of our character." My imagination piecing together bits of detail from the season 2 premiere. *HIATUS*
1. Chapter 1

Henry felt Elizabeth squeeze his hand and then get up from her seat beside him. Her fingers had been intertwined with his for the last hour, their hands resting on his thigh beneath the table. The loss of the warmth of her skin was jarring and he looked up to follow her blonde hair through the crowd to wherever Blake was leading her. From the corner of his eye, Henry caught various members of the Secret Service coming from the wings to stand around her as she made her way to an alcove on the other side of the room. Henry shook his head, something wasn't right. He politely excused himself from the chatter at their table and made his way toward his wife. The agents parted to allow Henry access to the area where Elizabeth stood, in conversation with three men Henry had never met. He saw Nadine on Elizabeth's right, her face pale and set. Blake protectively held his ground behind her. Henry didn't need to be closer to know that his hunch was correct; something was off. She started searching the room, looking for -

"I need to- _Henry,"_ she said in a strained tone.

 _"_ _Lizabeth,"_ he spoke her name from behind her, keeping his voice low. She met his eyes and took a breath, reaching for his hand.

"Madam Secretary, you need-"

She shook her head. Henry could tell she was trying to keep her composure when a shrill cry resounded, shattering her nerves. Sudden pandemonium broke out, chatter and horrified voices from the crowd filled the room. "BBC just went live with the news, Ma'am."

Henry grabbed her waist, pulling her toward the door that the agents were ushering them through when she stopped him. She pressed her hands against his chest and Henry could feel her shaking. He held onto her arms, running his palms over her soft skin.  
"Liz, tell me-" he began, concerned. The turmoil in her blue eyes frightened him.

 ** _There wasn't anything they couldn't get through together._**

"Conrad's plane is missing," she explained, with a shallow breath."I have to get to the White House."  
She shook her head slightly as if in disbelief. _"Stay with me,"_ she whispered before she was pulled toward the door again.

Elizabeth clung tightly to his hand as she was passed this way and that by agents and secret service members. He kept pace with her, one hand in hers, the other on her lower back, supporting her. He could feel her trembling and he wanted nothing more than to pull her close to himself, to take her home, to have her beside him, beneath him, to be alone with her, to make her feel secure, to talk to her, to sort this whole thing out.

They exited the building into the chilly D.C. evening and they ushered her toward a waiting car.  
"Sir, I'm sorry but you're going to have to -"

 _"_ _No,"_ Elizabeth said, her voice stronger than it had been minutes ago. "My husband is coming with me."

Henry helped her into the car, her long black dress catching on the seats. The door snapped shut behind them and for brief moments they were alone. Henry intended to make the most of them. He turned to her and took her slim shoulders in his hands, "Are you all right?" he asked her, his dark eyes filled with fear.  
She took a breath and tried to give tentative laugh but found she couldn't. "Ask me again in a few hours, okay?" she whispered, her hands clutching his suit jacket. Frank and Michael got into the car and Henry knew better than to press her. "Ma'am, you have a call from Russell Jackson's office. Can you take it?" Frank asked her. Elizabeth nodded, "Thanks Frank."

Even in the dark, Henry could see the confusion and trepidation on her beautiful face. He watched her shiver as she moved forward to take the phone. Henry had his dinner jacket off a moment later and covered Elizabeth's bare shoulders. She looked at him then, "I love you," she mouthed, leaning against him and pressing her lips to his cheek. Before he could reciprocate, Russell Jackson came on the line and she sat up straight again. "Russell, what happened?" she asked, resting her hand on Henry's knee. Henry listened to his wife's voice, the one-sided conversation. He contented his own apprehension by fingering her unopened bottle of anti-anxiety medicine that he always kept in his pocket for nights like this.  
Nights like this seemed to be occurring more often now, and the bottle, though unopened had been tucked safely in Elizabeth's purse for months. _ **"Just in case,"**_ Henry told her over and over again. _"Just in case,"_ she'd say, as she started to believe him. First it was out of humoring her husband but then it became frighteningly apparent to her that things had changed and she needed a _"Just in case."_ Since Iran, since her panic attack, her PTSD, since Juliet, since their quiet regular life had been replaced entirely by fear of the unknown. When Elizabeth met his gaze once more, Henry knew her thoughts mirrored his. How many more evenings such as this would they have to endure?


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you all for your positive reviews and for continuing to read. I really appreciate it and Love writing for these characters. Here's to 2016...

* * *

They were rushed into the White House. The wind had picked up and Elizabeth's hair was slowly falling out of it's elegant knot. Once inside, Henry fell back slightly, allowing Elizabeth the space he thought she needed. The security detail pressed her forward to move on into another room, indicating that Henry should stay behind. He stood against the wall, listening to the chaotic buzz of conversation around them. He met her eyes from across the sea of bodies and Elizabeth fought her way to him.

"Henry, the guys can take you home." she said.

"No babe, I'm staying with you," he reassured her, brushing a stray lock of her golden hair away from her forehead.

"I don't know how long this is gonna take. It could be hours..." she trailed off slowly, her eyes conveying for an instant the exhaustion he knew she felt.

"I'll be here. I'm fine. Don't worry," he continued, seeing a look of concern cross her face. "You don't sleep - I don't sleep, Secretary McCord," he joked softly, hoping to make her smile. She ran her hand over his chest.

"I'll be back as fast as I can, Professor," she whispered, kissing him quickly.

One of the agents led Henry to a sitting room not far from the room where Elizabeth's meeting was being held.

Henry's mind spun while he paced the room. What had happened to Air Force One? Henry couldn't believe that after everything that they went through to learn the truth about Marsh's plane crash that something more had happened. Was the plane sabotaged? Who wanted Conrad dead? Was Elizabeth in danger? Henry took a deep breath, his wife was always in danger. Living in the public eye in such an administration put her under constant observation. The horror of Iran was still far too fresh in Henry's mind for them to take any chances.

A thought seized him and Henry grabbed his phone. He swallowed hard while the rings resounded in his ear. This wasn't a call he made lightly.

"Dad?"  
"Henry? Are you all right?"  
"Yeah, yeah, Dad. We're all fine I just, uh, I have to cash in some chips here and ask you for a favor."  
He could almost see his father shaking his head. "What's happened, Henry?"  
"I - that I can't say for sure but can you- I'm asking if you'll take the kids for a few days?"

Silence met his words.

"Dad, are you-?"  
"Henry, yes. The kids are welcome here. I'll get the spare bedroom ready and the couch ready for Jason."  
Henry sighed, "Thanks Dad. We appre-"  
"Are you and Elizabeth all right?" his father asked, both interrupting and shocking Henry with his moment of concern.

"Yeah, yes. Thanks Dad. We're fine. Liz is in meetings now, we'll - I'll keep you posted."  
"Seems like a dangerous job she's found, doesn't it?"  
Henry was about to jump to Elizabeth's defense when Patrick continued.  
"I mean, what with the incident in the Middle East and everything all of you went through. She's sharp, Elizabeth. I just hope she's careful.

Henry couldn't find words because his throat felt as dry as the night she'd returned for Iran.

"I'll be waiting for the kids, Henry. Have one of 'em give me a call when they're close by."  
Henry found his voice. "Thanks, Dad. I will."

Hanging up with his father, Henry hit the number 2 speed dial button on his cell.

"Dad?" Jason's voice was sleepy but Henry could hear the sounds of his video games in the background.  
"Hey Jase, you okay?"  
"Yeah, Dad, what's up?"

"Listen, buddy, are you sisters' there? I need to talk to all of you guys."

"Dad, what's going on? Is Mom okay?" Jason's voice lost it's drowsy quality immediately and it made Henry's chest hurt.

"Jase," he breathed, "Mom is fine. I'm fine. Something happened here with the President. We don't know any details yet but I need to talk to the three of you."

"Yeah, Gimme me a minute," Jason answered and Henry heard him walking up the stairs to find the girls.

Jason clambering into Alison's room first..."Hey, Dad's on the phone. He needs to talk to all three of us."

" _What?_ Why? Is _Mom_ okay?" Allie asked immediately, her panicked voice breaking Henry's heart.

"He says she's fine. Stevie!"

Henry could hear Jason pounding on the bathroom door and the sound of Stevie's hairdryer. Then Allie's raised voice, "Stevie, Dad's on the phone! Something's going on!"

"What? What happened?" his eldest daughter's tone full of anxiety.

Stevie grabbed the phone from her brother.

"Dad? You're on speaker. We're all here."  
"Hey guys," Henry said, "I'm glad you're all still awake. Mom and I are fine. We're safe, we're at the White House right now."

"What happened to the charity dinner?" Allie asked but Stevie shushed her.

"I need you guys to do me a favor. I need you to get yourselves packed up and go to stay with Grandpa." All three of their children made sounds of protest.

 _"Dad!"_  
 _"Come on! Seriously?"_  
 _"Where's Mom?"_

Henry sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. "Guys, we don't have a lot of details right now. Just know something happened and Mom and I are here. Mom's in meetings for a while. We're safe but we can't get home to make sure you guys are safe and behaving and not eating all the junk food in the house so I need you to do this for us. Please."

"Dad, _what-?"_ Allie's voice sounded close to tears.

"Noodle, I'm sorry, honey. I don't know. I can't tell you what I don't know myself."

"Al. He's sworn to secrecy." Jason chimed in.

At that moment the door to the sitting room opened and Elizabeth rushed in. "The kids?" she mouthed, reading his face. Henry nodded, _**Allie**_ **.**

He handed the phone to her.  
"Hi Noodle!" she said, keeping her voice as light as possible.

"Mom! Are you okay?"

"Al, you need to believe Daddy when he tells you something, okay?" she said, softly with a sad smile.

"What happened, Mom?"

"Allie," she said, putting their daughter on speaker phone

"We're all here, Mom," Stevie explained.

"All of you need to get up and get packed for us, please. Grandpa's waiting for you," Henry said, clarifying his plans for their children.

"This isn't fair!" Alison cried, they could hear the tears in her voice.

 _ **"**_ _ **Allie,"**_ four gentle voices said her name at once. Elizabeth could almost see Stevie's arm around Allie's shoulders. "Noodle, Mom needs-" Henry started but Elizabeth shook her head and took the phone to her ear, "Allie, listen to me. We love all of you very much. We're safe. I'm so sorry I can't tell you more, okay? Dad and I don't know a lot right now. But when we do we're going to let you know, okay?" She met Henry's eyes, silently reassuring him and their children.

They waited in silence for their children's response. Predictably, is was Stevie who spoke first. "We've got it, Mom. Who's gonna take us?"

Elizabeth gave an audible breath, glancing at Henry gratefully. "Andrew will drive you to Pittsburgh. Jason, do _not_ to forget your toothbrush, please! Thank you, guys. We'll come get you as soon as we can."

"Jason, be good to your sisters." Henry called, "Please behave at Grandpa's.

"We love you guys. Toothbrush, Jason!"

The resounding chorus of "Love you" and Allie's sniffles were the last sounds they heard before Stevie took the phone to her ear.

"We'll be fine, guys. Don't worry too much about us."

"Stevie," Henry and Elizabeth spoke her name at once and their eldest daughter, mercifully sensing how close both her parents sounded to their emotional breaking points, said goodbye. "We'll take care of Allie. She's all right. We all are. Love you guys. Bye."

The room sounded oddly quiet without the waves of their children's voices all speaking at once and washing over each other. Elizabeth and Henry stood in silence for more than a minute.

Elizabeth leaned back against the desk behind her, her fingertips gripping the wooden edge. "Thank you," she sighed.  
He softly brushed his fingers against her collarbone, "I thought - _just in case_. 'Til we're sure..."

She bit her lip, nodding. "You read my mind."

Henry gave a quiet huff of laughter, "Wish I could do that more often because now this is **me:** _asking you again in a few hours:_ Are you all right?"

"I'm – I, Henry – they, they're talking about swearing me in."

" _What?_ Tonight?"

Elizabeth nodded, her blue eyes stormy. Henry reached for her, holding onto her waist.

"Conrad?"

"They don't know. There's nothing to know yet. It just disappeared, Henry. The plane's just _gone."_

"Can they swear you in if-?"

"They want me to be sworn in as the acting President until - until Conrad gets back or we find out..."

"Babe, this is a lot to take in."

"I know. It's crazy. It's insane. But I – I mean I don't know if..." she broke off.

"What do you think?" he asked her, gently.

"Henry, does it really matter? I know what I have to do, I just, I don't have a lot of time _**to think**_ _._.." she trailed off, her eyes filled with a lost look.

Henry searched her face. With a stab of pain, he recognized that look of fear that was playing across her delicate features. She had worn the same desperate expression on an early morning many months ago while standing in the entry way of their home. It wasn't long enough ago for Henry to forget every detail of her expressions and the moments leading up to her trip. The morning she had fought back tears, and kissed him. The morning she had pulled herself from his grasp and fallen into the line of fire, the morning she _left._ The morning **he let her** _ **go**_ **-**

"No, Liz, _no._ We're not gonna do this again. Babe, we _need_ to talk about this. Right _now_ , tell me. Tell me what's going through your head," he was half-pleading with her, trying to keep his voice as steady as possible, so as not to alarm her. But he knew that she was thinking the same thing:

 _She had had a choice to take this job and he'd supported her. That she'd had a choice to go to Iran and she'd gone._ _ **He'd let her go**_ _. Did she have a choice now?_

Elizabeth tucked her head against his chest for a moment. _"Liz,"_ he whispered her name, more as a prayer than anything else. When she looked back up at him, her eyes were filled with tears.

"Henry, I, right now-"

"You're going to give yourself another panic attack, do you understand?" Henry started again, trying to reason with her pragmatic side. "You have to talk to me. I have to talk to _you._ You can't bottle all this up and then wait for something to happen. I'm not gonna stand here and watch you get hurt again, Liz. I won't let that happen. Talk to me. Talk it out."

She gave a breath.

"I took the job."

"You took the job as the _Secretary of State,"_ he said, slowly. _  
_

"With that comes service to our country-"

"Yes, and from where I'm standing you have always gone above and beyond the call of duty."

"President? Can I be the president? I don't want to be the president." she muttered.

"Liz, we don't know what happened yet. To Conrad. This could put you in danger again."

"That's not really what I'm worried about -"

"Well, I am. Less than a year ago, Liz. For Gods sakes, babe, **I let you** -

"That was my decision," she said, "You can't blame yourse-"

"I **_never_** should have let you go."

 _"What_ do you want me to say, Henry? I'm not gonna give you one of the company lines. You know them all! It's a sacrifice!"

"But you're not the _sacrificial lamb_! You're not the one who has to take the fall for _everything!"_

"When I signed up for this I knew it would be -"

"You did **_not._** You did not know it would be like _**this.**_ Don't bullshit me, Liz - more importantly; don't bullshit yourself."

Elizabeth took a breath and pushed herself away from the desk, taking a slow walk around the room.

"I know what you're gonna say," Henry began.

"Really? Well, could you tell me because I honestly don't know." Elizabeth said, sincerely.

Henry shook his head, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Liz, I- you know that I don't begrudge you **_anything._** Not a minute of our life together. We're a team and we made promises to each other 26 years ago that are more relevant today, than they were back then.  
But Liz, when's it gonna stop? The way I see it, you've done nothing **but** sacrifice. I almost -" Henry cleared his throat, unable to meet her eyes. "I almost lost you. Tell _them_ about sacrifices, Liz – not me, not _you...Sacrifice_ is letting you leave my arms after a night of you reassuring me that you'd come back safely. Sacrifice is you breaking in front of me in our foyer knowing what could happen. Sacrifice is me knowing you well enough to know that I **had** to let you go. It's watching our girls huddled on your side of the bed, crying, not knowing whether you were alive or dead. It's the hours that I sat there, watching them toss and turn because every time I closed my eyes I was terrified that the phone would ring and they would tell me that you were gone. It's counting every minute of _seventeen_ hours until you, my best friend, my wife, the mother of my children, the reason I _breathe_ walked back through the door. It's wondering what kind of shape you were going to be in when you came back to us. It's you throwing up nine times that first night back. It's listening to you cry in the shower, and then running to the hospital, believing that I'd lost you all over again. It's you curled up in my arms at 2:30 in the morning. It's everything **you** did, Liz. It's **you** sacrificing being home for Allie's birthday to **save God knows how many lives**! It's Javani risking his life, it's you _there_ on that floor in his house, it's Fred. It's _you_ being the bravest person I have ever known and trying to help to _**change** _ things. But you don't have to do that now, Liz. You have a choice. You've always had choices and you've always done what you believed to be right. That's one of the reasons _why I love you so much_ , but I don't want you to have to give anymore, Liz. What happened in Iran hurt you, it hurt me, it hurt all of us. I don't want that to happen again." Henry took a breath, watching her face.

"I don't want you to, Liz. I don't want you to do this. God knows, I don't want you to hate me or be disappointed in me but I need to tell you the truth. I want to take you home. No matter what you choose, _I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, you know that_ , but I really just want to take you home. I'm not willing to risk _your_ life, **our** life, the life we love for this anymore."

Henry read her face for a split second, the absolute tide of emotion that passed across her visage before the door opened. Elizabeth grabbed his hand, holding onto him tightly.

"Bess?"

"Russell," she started but he halted her before she could get another word out.

"Bess, they found them."

"Alive?" Elizabeth asked, breathlessly.


End file.
